This invention relates to a wiring arrangement for the electric parts of an outboard motor, and more particularly to an improved wiring arrangement that includes a printed circuit board mounted on an upper portion of the engine and having a plurality of projecting portions which extend outwardly for connection with wires which, in turn, are connected to various electronic components of the engine.
Conventionally in outboard motors, the engine is contained within an engine compartment that is formed by a cowling that may include a tray and a removable top cowling having the general shape of an inverted cup. Many of the engine control parts, power tilt and trim control, and electrical parts such as the starter motor relay are mounted on the side wall of the engine and are contained with the cowling assembly. To provide power to these components, it has been the practice with outboard motors to employ wire harnesses which extend from the inside of the associated watercraft through the transom and into the empty spaces within the engine compartment where they are often distributed within the lower section of that compartment between an engine side wall and the cowling.
Although this type of wiring arrangement is generally satisfactory, it has certain disadvantages associated with it. Along pith the continued advancement in engine electronics, the number of electrical components for the engine has increased. As a result, the quantity and complexity of the wire harnesses has increased with the layout of the lower section of the engine compartment becoming more complicated. Also, by disposing the wire harnesses in the lower section of the engine compartment on or near the bottom of the cowling, there is a distinct possibility that the wires may come into contact with water that may have entered the interior of the cowling and collected at the bottom. This may result in corrosion of the wires and their connectors and possible electrical failure of the system. The possibility of corrosion is of particular concern when the outboard motor is operated in salt water.
Also, conventional wire harnesses have been so flexible that it is difficult to position them on the engine or within the cowling during assembly of the outboard motor.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved and simplified wiring arrangement for an outboard motor that includes a printed circuit board mounted in an upper section of the engine compartment and having branch wire connections for branch wires which extend downwardly to electrical components of the outboard motor.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved and simplified wiring arrangement for an outboard motor which includes a printed circuit board and branch wires that may be readily connected and disconnected from the circuit board for maintenance and inspection purposes.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved and simplified wiring arrangement for an outboard motor which includes a printed circuit board having a less flexible form so as to facilitate the mounting of the circuit board.